Bond
by AutumnMobile12
Summary: Two dragon riders of different worlds and cultures converge. Chapter 2 Redone.
1. Chapter 1

Bond

Summary: Two dragon riders of different worlds and cultures converge.

His only warning was a vague shape within the clouds and a roar like thunder.

Then a man in armor astride a black dragon soared into view, just grazing Saphira's blue wingtip as they raced by. The rider wore a sable, full visor helm which disclosed nothing of his face but a pair of green eyes wide with shock. And clutched in his free arm was a dark purple dragon egg.

Eragon met the man's eyes for an instant before Saphira wheeled around and chased after the pair, releasing a jet of flames that just missed the tip of the black dragon's tail. An instant later, it spun around mid-flight and shot a white fireball from his mouth, which Saphira dodged it easily enough, but it was enough for their enemies to put some distance between them.

_I told you this was a bad idea!_ Saphira roared at Eragon. Silently, he agreed, though he wasn't about to admit it aloud. So it was a bad idea to leave the ship unattended why they scouted the area for land, but it wasn't as though anyone else was in the area.

_Well, as you can see, you were wrong!_

_I know!_

Saphira shot another bout of flames upon the pair once she caught up. The opposite dragon was much smaller than she was, though it flew as fast as an arrow, covering sufficient ground needed to counterattack. With at least twenty yards between them, it would spin around fire another flaming bullet at them, this time just grazing Saphira's wing.

_He's done this before!_ Eragon realized. _This isn't the first time he's fought another dragon. Or another Rider!_ This put him at a disadvantage, he realized, since the only dragon and Rider he'd ever fought had been Murtagh and Thorn.

Finding himself at a profound disadvantage in experience, Eragon thought back to his lessons with Oromis and Brom and remembered the vulnerable points on a dragon: the neck, beneath the wings, and the flanks. Drawing Brisingr, he shared his observations with Saphira, and then his plans.

_Be careful. _Saphira cautioned._ That loathsome lizard may be smaller, but that also means he's used to fighting those larger than him._

Eragon silently agreed, then extended tendrils of thought toward the black dragon, only to find a iron wall shielding its thoughts. Images of a boy no older than he'd been when he found Saphira's egg flashed through his mind, followed by a series of memories involving the same boy whether it was flying together, eating together, sleeping together, and defending each other. He broke off the contact as Saphira flew over the pair, striking at them with her forepaws and missing the rider by inches.

Then the two dragons locked talons and began to tear at one another, biting at each others' necks and kicking at their unarmored bellies. The black dragon battered at Saphira's head with his forepaws, screaming in fury as she shot a jet of flame at him. He sank his teeth into one of her legs and she howled and snapped at one of his wings, missed, then managed to dislodge him with a ferocious kick.

The black rider drew his own sword, a weapon that burned fire just as Brisingr did. In his right arm, he still cradled the stolen dragon egg, holding it as though it was his and his alone to protect. Eragon watched him deposit it into a leather shoulder bag, then he rose from the saddle and and turned to face Eragon. The black dragon jerked to the side, snapping at one of Saphira's wings now, and his rider leaped toward Eragon, slashing his blade at him.

Eragon dodged the attack and struck at his opponent. Brisingr met the firesword in a shower of sparks, as though they dueled with swords fresh from a smith's forge. The black rider yelled in a mixture of pain and astonishment, retreated a couple paces, then struck again, harder than before. Again, Eragon met the attack easily, then struck himself, gaining the offense and forcing his opponent into submission. He did not have the upper hand long. Every time they converged it was for a brief moment before they broke apart, circled as best they could, then attacked again.

As he engaged the enemy for a fourth time, Eragon lashed a hand out to snatch the satchel, but the black rider's blade slapped it away, burning him for a second. Saphira twisted suddenly as she bit the black dragon's tail, and both combatants were knocked off their feet. Eragon was the first to stand, followed by his opponent, who swung at him in a wide arc that would've cut his arm had he not raised Brisingr in time.

Dismayed at his ferocity, Eragon found it difficult to match his opponent's determination. Even with his inhumane speed and strength, he found himself unable to keep up with the black rider's attacks. Every time he thought the other would submit and concede defeat, a profound spark of anger flared behind his eyes and he resumed fighting with renewed ferocity as though he abhorred Eragon personally.

Then he thought of the battle under Farthen Dûr, how he had defeated the Shade Durza, and how he was much more the farm boy of Carvahall then than he was now. If he could slay a monster like that, Eragon thought as he thwarted a stab from the other rider, then it was entirely possible for mortal man to kill a Rider.

With this in mind, he retaliated stronger than ever, forcing the rider back along Saphira's spine toward the hollow at the base of her neck. When he'd driven him back as far as her shoulder blades, the two dragons suddenly broke apart, a mere fifty feet above the sea. The black rider turned away from Eragon and ran along the length of Saphira's wing, launching himself into the air, although his dragon was soaring away. Eragon watched as he leveled himself out, spreading his arms to break his fall, then extended two triangular strips of canvas on either side of his body and glided the rest of the way toward his dragon.

_Did you get the egg back?_ Saphira asked.

_No._ Eragon explained the manner in which the rider had protected it.

_Perhaps dragon eggs have a much more significant value in these parts._ Saphira suggested. _For all we know, it could be a sacred item._

That certainly explained the rider's fanatical behavior, Eragon thought as Saphira propelled herself after their retreating opponents. _Or he's a thief and thinks it's a precious gemstone. That's what I thought your egg was until you hatched._

_What! _Saphira snarled back indignantly.

Nonetheless, they had to get that egg back. Following the dragon and rider, Eragon was surprised to find they had almost disappeared in the clouds. "They're running!" He realized, then berated himself, _Of course they are. They've got what they want after all._

Saphira needed no encouragement to race after them, expressing her fury in a roar that shook the sky like a thunderclap. The black rider looked back at them for an instant, then swerved to the left in a sharp turn, heading straight for the dark, indistinct shape of an island in the distance. Eragon frowned at the maneuver, studying the black dragon's tail. One side was black, like the rest of the beast, but the other was bright red. It couldn't be natural; it looked so out of place.

_It's fake!_ He thought._ Part of his tail is fake! It's made of some kind of fabric._

_I could light it on fire if I could get close enough._ Saphira suggested.

_No, that won't be necessary. I'll handle it. _Carefully, Eragon raised his right hand, palm outstretched, and concentrated on his target. "_Jierda!_"

With a snap, the artificial tail shredded and broke apart. The other rider whirled around in surprise and, as expected, his black dragon wobbled with the loss and began to plummet toward the sea. A terrified roar and a human scream reached his ears as the pair fell out of sight beneath the clouds. Diving after them, he watched as the small dragon fanned out its wings, unsteadily gliding across the sky and heading straight for in the distance. His rider leaped out of the saddle and darted along the creature's spine and the length of his tail to inspect the damage.

What he found, Eragon could not say, but he quickly returned to the saddle, patting the side of his dragon's neck. The creature lurched as it flew, yet it balanced out its dark wings as best it could to coast through the air. The rider glared up at them but only maintained the expression until a gust of wind knocked them off balance, sending them both in a brief panic before they evened out again.

Twice, Eragon and Saphira tried to retrieve the egg and they were beaten off both times by either the rider's firesword or the dragon's snapping jaws. Although he considered using another spell to retrieve the egg, Eragon didn't want to risk a fight with magic on the off chance their adversary could use it. _I suppose if he could, he would've fixed the tail by now._

_It could be a bluff._ Saphira answered.

Using the words of death was an option, too, but simply killing them seemed a little extreme, not to mention neither of them were eager to slay another dragon. In the end, he chose to bend the elements somewhat, creating a warm updraft to smooth out the dragon's flight and see them safely to the island, which was almost directly beneath them now.

It was a large piece of land, easily the size Vroengard, the ancestral home of the Rider's, had been. A thick, evergreen forest covered the majority of the land mass, though one section had been devoted to farmlands, and to the east, Eragon could just make out the vague shape of a settlement. Angling over the trees, he let up on the draft and watched the pair drift toward the earth, until the black dragon's left wing suddenly struck a tree and threw him off balance with a startled roar.

Rider and dragon hit the ground, hard, and lay quietly in the dirt until the rider pushed himself upright with a grimace. He cried out to his dragon as it forced itself to its feet, then whipping around to roar hatefully at Saphira as she circled them. Leaping from her back, Eragon landed smoothly on the grass just as his opponent was staggering to his feet. Both dragons charged off into the undergrowth, leaving torn scrub, splintered tree limbs, and angry roars in their wake.

The black rider turned to Eragon. His helm had been lost in the crash, yet he still had a firm hold on the satchel containing the stolen egg and his eyes were two narrow slits. He was older than him by a few years and, though hunched over in pain, a couple inches taller. The sword in his hand still burned red as the two began to circle on another. For the first time, Eragon noticed one of the interloper's legs ended below the knee, continuing to the ground as some version of a metal leg.

Filing this away for later, he locked his gaze on the rider, waiting for an opening to attack. Then one of the two dragons fighting in the distance roared in agony and the black rider whipped his head around to follow the sound. Seizing his chance, Eragon leapt forward and knocked the firesword from his hand.

An instant later, he'd thrown the rider to the ground, planting a boot between his shoulder blades and Brisingr at his neck. In addition, he had a hold on his wrist and was yanking his arm behind his back in a manner that should've been extremely painful. The rider struggled a little, yelling in pain, then suddenly went limp and his head dropped to the earth with a dull thud. Eragon frowned. Surely the fight hadn't gone out of him already.

He was just about to let go entirely and just keep Brisingr edge by his throat when his opponent gave a sudden twist and Eragon felt something strike the back of his head. He gave a pained shout but stayed upright, although dazed by the attack and the black rider easily squirmed out of his grip and darted out of reach, snatching up his sword in the process.

"Weren't expecting the metal leg, were you?" He asked with a smug grin.

Eragon growled and rose to his feet, gripping his sword tighter. "Tell me why you were on my ship." He demanded, though it felt odd referring to the vessel as 'his' personally. He'd traded the graceful elven ship for it some time ago on account the expert sailors in this part of the world claimed one-masted longboats were more practical in these waters.

The stranger blinked, then asked in a low, coercing tone, "Why do you have dragon eggs in your hold?"

Before Eragon could answer, the black dragon reappeared, charging from the brush and bowling him over as easily as a kitten with a moth, even going so far as to pin his sword arm to the ground. The black's rider was just as startled, staring at them wide-eyed before shouting to Eragon's dismay, "Bad dragon! Get off him! Toothless!"

Saphira charged out of the undergrowth in pursuit of the black dragon. Aside from a couple scratches on her muzzle and a vicious bite on her right foreleg, she seemed unhurt. Relieved, Eragon opened his mind to relay what had occurred, but she turned to knock down the black rider instead. He backed up a few paces, then rather unexpectedly removed something from his person that produced a putrid green gas that he ignited with a spark. Saphira pulled back in alarm, baring her ivory teeth in a snarl.

The second rider warily took a step toward her, extending his right hand until his palm hovered half a foot away from her snout. Saphira snorted suspiciously and narrowed her eyes at the offering, which seemed to perplex the rider, so he turned away and closed his eyes. Cocking her head to the side, her hostility diminished a fraction and she sniffed at the rider's gloved hand.

The black dragon pinning Eragon to the ground had gone still, fixing a glare on Saphira and seeming to have forgotten him altogether. Tentatively, Eragon reached out with his mind to touch the beast's, only to find, like before, nothing but a fierce and boundless devotion to his rider. His upper lip curled with a concern akin to that of a mother bear protecting her young or a man defending his family.

Saphira took no notice. The black rider didn't move. Then, slowly, she closed her crystal blue eyes and touched her nose to the rider's outstretched hand. The rider opened his green eyes and turned to look at her with a smile, raising his other hand to scratch her under her chin. "Hey, now. You're a sweet girl. Look at you."

Saphira opened her eyes and looked at Eragon. _I don't think he means to harm us._

Eragon could see that for himself, and he was little disturbed by how easily this other rider had placated his dragon. Like an enormous cat, Saphira purred and nudged the rider with her nose, angling her head as he ran his fingers over her scales and closing her eyes again with a smile.

Likewise, the black dragon also relaxed. Still linked with him, Eragon sensed the creature's instinctive defenses lowering and he attempted soothing him with gentle thoughts. Just as Saphira's was, the black dragon's mind was vast and alien compared to a human's. Suddenly, he shook his head and fixed him with an intense glare before leaping away and settling on a nearby knoll to watch them.

Eragon rose to his feet, brushing himself off, then asked of Saphira, _What was that all about?_

_It seemed like the right thing to do. _She replied sheepishly.

Dismayed, he turned to the rider, who was eyeing him warily. It was clear from from his demonstration he meant them no harm, which proved to Eragon's discomfort that he had been the aggressor in their battle. Yet now that they'd established the other was a formidable opponent, neither of them seemed willing to fight again.

A long, tense silence stretched between the four of them, broken by the screams of birds and wild animals that had been disturbed by the skirmish, along with something that sounded like a tree falling in the distance. The black rider winced at that, then turned to Eragon, "So, why is your cargo full of dragon eggs?"

Eragon remained quiet, wondering how to explain.

"Look, I don't want to seem rude or threatening, but you'd better tell me what you're up to before every rider on Berk comes to see what was making all that racket a minute ago."

He raised an eyebrow and surveyed the damage around them, then returned his gaze to the rider. "You wouldn't know about the eggs if you hadn't been on the ship. So what were you doing there in the first place?"

Two pairs of green eyes glared at him, then the rider answered, "All right, one of our sentries spotted an unidentified ship nearby, and I came to investigate. Now about the eggs?"

"I'm transporting them from my homeland in search of a place to raise them safely."

The rider exchanged a glance with his dragon. "Dragon eggs belong with the mother dragons, and I can tell you from experience, they'll do anything to get their young back."

That made sense. "I'm afraid the parents of my charges are dead."

Horror crossed the man's face. "You _killed_ them?" The black dragon snarled.

"No!"

Both of them were silent, studying the other suspiciously, as though expecting another attack. _It would seem_, Saphira said suddenly, speaking to both of them, _The two of you have a story to tell._

The rider recoiled at the sound of Saphira's voice, stumbling backward so violently Eragon thought he was going to fall over. The black dragon, Toothless, pressed his snout into his back to support him, but his rider took no notice. "She _speaks_?"

Eragon frowned. "Doesn't yours?"

He shook his head. "Dragons don't talk."

_Enough!_ Saphira roared before his confusion could escalate. _Eragon, put away Brisingr and introduce us properly._

As he was bid, Eragon sheathed his sword and stepped forward, extending a gloved hand to the opposite. "I am Eragon Shadeslayer, Rider of Alagaësia. And this is my dragon, Saphira Bjartskular."

Cautiously, the black rider gripped his hand and gave a firm shake. "My name's Hiccup, of the isle of Berk. You've already met my friend, Toothless." The black dragon gave an uncanny imitation of a human laugh, bobbing his serpentine head up and done, which made Saphira snort derisively.

They were an odd pair of names, though Eragon did not comment and listened as Hiccup began a story from four years ago, how his people, the Vikings, and the dragons had fought over food and territory for centuries. The battles were fierce and claimed thousands of lives on both sides, including that of his mother when he was a babe. As he spoke, Eragon watched him work to repair the artificial tail he'd broken, expertly sliding a bright yellow fabric over some kind of a connecting rod.

"Then I met Toothless, and everything changed." Toothless rubbed his head against his rider's and nearly knocked him over. "We've learned to train them and live with them. And now they're our greatest friends and allies."

"Like Eragon the Elder." Eragon grinned. Hiccup blinked uncomprehendingly, so he explained how, like the Vikings and the dragons, the elves and dragons in Alagaësia had fought a similar war in his homeland centuries ago, and how the elf Eragon brought an end to the bloodshed by secretly hatching and raising the white dragon Bid'Daum.

Hiccup was silent for some time, trading glances with Toothless, then said in an uncertain voice. "A … flattering comparison, truly. But I can assure you I'm human."

"I can see that."

"So elves exist in your land?"

"Aye, dwarfs and urgals as well."

Hiccup shook his head in bewilderment. "So what happened to this Eragon and Bid'Daum?"

So, Eragon described how the pair had established the Dragon Riders and how they came to protect and serve the people of Alagaësia, first as a means of communication between elves and dragons, then more significantly as rangers and peacemakers. He could tell from Hiccup's face the older man had never heard of such a structure.

"It sounds organized." He commented hesitantly. "My village is a madhouse on the best of days."

Eragon smirked. "And the worst?"

"A war zone." Hiccup frowned. "But what brings you here. I've never heard of Alagaësia, so you must've come a long way. With a cargo hold full of eggs no less."

Eragon then told an abridged version of how the Rider's had been destroyed by King Galbatorix and how fate had left three eggs in his possession, how Saphira had come to him by accident, and how together they'd fought the Empire and overthrown the king. "However, in order to rebuild the Riders, we needed a place to ourselves, so as not to show favoritism for one of the four races: men, elves, dwarfs, and urgals. And there was just no place like that in Alagaësia."

When he finished his tale, Hiccup remarked. "So you intend to never return to this Alagaësia in order to find a sanctuary for the eggs."

"I don't really have a choice."

"What about this Vroengard you mentioned? Surely that would have been a suitable home."

Eragon shook his head. "It's been uninhabitable since the Battle of Doru Araeba."

Hiccup was silent, trading glances with his dragon, who rumbled mournfully up at him. He patted his head. "I know, bud. It is sad."

_They don't share the bond you and I have, do they._ Eragon said to Saphira.

_No. But I think they have one of a different variety._

"What kind of dragon is she?" Hiccup asked, looking up at them again.

Now it was Eragon's turn to frown. "What?" He was about answer there was only one kind of dragon, but he turned to Toothless and observed the black dragon was undeniably different from Saphira, not only in size but in other aspects, such as his small head like that of an adder, his cat-like paws, and the lack of horns and neck spikes. "Are there other types of dragon in your lands?"

"Hundreds more." Hiccup replied, then spun around and removed a heavy, leather-bound book from a compartment in Toothless' saddle.

It was heavier than it looked when he handed it to him. Cracking it open to a page in the middle, Eragon found a detailed sketch of a very small but heavyset dragon that resembled a large bee. Its head was larger than the rest of its body and its short, stumpy tail looked a little like a bludgeon.

The names were interesting, and often quite literal if the illustrations and descriptions could be believed. Monstrous Nightmares whose entire bodies could ignite into an inferno, twin-headed Hideous Zippelbacks, Terrible Terrors roughly the length of his forearm, Deadly Nadders, Gronckles, Whispering Deaths, Changewings, Skrill, Smokebreaths, Skauldrons, and countless others, all unique from one another. Some had four legs, or two, or none at all. One species had four heads while another didn't even have wings.

_It seems the dragons here are as diverse from one another as humans, elves, dwarves, and urgals in Alagaësia._ Saphira remarked over his shoulder.

"Dragons in my homeland were pretty much the same, aside from color." Eragon explained. "They didn't really have a specific name."

"Then...what does 'bjartskular' mean?"

"Brightscales."

"Suits her. She's pretty." Hiccup complimented, raising a hand to pat the scales on Saphira's neck. "Not every dragon is of a solid color like this. And those that are are usually the hardest to train."

Eragon kept silent as the elder man circled his dragon, taking in every inch of her, from the ends of her claws to the very tip of her tail, with growing fascination. Saphira twisted her head around to follow him as he walked, looking uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but she did not object. After all, he was looking upon her with favor, and Eragon knew from experience her vanity could sometimes stretch across Du Weldenvarden to the Beors and back with plenty to spare.

In contrast, Toothless growled enviously and pointedly turned his back. Absently, Eragon reached out to scratch him between the ears, which seemed to please him a little. When Hiccup finished his inspection, he reached up to pat Saphira's snout again, "You're as lovely as your name is, Saphira."

_I like him_. Saphira said simply, showing her teeth in a funny smile.

_Of course you do._ Eragon scowled back.

Then Toothless bounded between Hiccup and Saphira, pushing his rider back and growling. "And you're pouting." Hiccup teased. His dragon snarled and turned away stubbornly. "You big baby."

"You said there are different kinds of dragons in your land." Eragon said. "So what is yours?"

"_Nott Mo__ð__r_." Hiccup answered. "A Night Fury, one of the fiercest and most powerful dragons in the Archipelago."

Eragon believed it, but Toothless still kept his head turned away angrily. Hiccup sighed and skirted his dragon to look him in the eye, which was easier said than done since Toothless kept circling to turn away. "Come on. You can't ignore me forever." It seemed to Eragon Toothless very well could ignore his rider forever. He refused to look at him and even stomped on his only foot.

"Fine, be that way. Oh, right!" Carefully, Hiccup withdrew the purple dragon egg from his satchel and handed it to Eragon. "This is yours then, and I wish you the best of luck finding a home for them."

"Why did you steal it in the first place?"

"I panicked." Hiccup admitted uncomfortably. "I wasn't expecting to find an abandoned ship full of dragon eggs, and...well, it was the one thing I could think of."

"That's right," Eragon remembered, handing the dragon book back to him. "You said earlier that sentries spotted my ship, but I don't recall seeing anyone." _Or detecting the presence of anyone else's minds._

Hiccup laughed. "Do you think I'm the only dragon rider on Berk?"

As if in response to his query, a screech sounded above them and a dark shadow swooped over the clearing. All four of them jumped in alarm, turning their eyes skyward as another dragon hovered above the tree line, then began to lower itself into the clearing. This dragon had only two hind legs, and resembled a large, reptilian pheasant. A woman with pale blond hair knotted into a complex braid dismounted before her dragon even landed, dropping a good five feet to the ground, then ran to Hiccup.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" She cried, gripping an axe in one hand and waving about the other. "Did you know you've been gone for almost an hour? And who is _this_?" Now holding the axe in both hands, she turned to face Eragon and Saphira. "Are these the two you were fighting earlier when you crashed?"

"You saw that?"

"_Everyone saw it!_" She shouted, pointing to the east. "You live a quarter mile that way! And you're not exactly hard to miss!"

Beside him, Saphira released a low, throaty laugh. _Hiccup's mate is quite excitable, isn't she._

Despite himself, Eragon shared her amusement. The other two riders turned to him with a questioning stare, so he translated, "Saphira thinks your mate is rather humorous."

Infuriated, the woman took a step toward him and raised her axe and probably would've used it if Hiccup hadn't moved to stand at the center of the three dragon/rider pairs. "Uh...Astrid and Stormfly, Eragon and Saphira. Eragon and Saphira, Astrid and Stormfly."

Stormfly cautiously took a step forward and sniffed the end of Saphira's tail, then squawked and backtracked when the blue dragon caught on to what she was doing. Astrid didn't respond, though her blue eyes darted back and forth between her clansman and Eragon, which made her look more than a little confused. "Um … okay? Saphira's the dragon, right? And dragon's don't..."

"I'll explain later." Hiccup assured her, climbing onto Toothless' back. "But Eragon is the captain of the ship Fishlegs saw earlier."

"You mean the one Snotlout, and the Twins 'sailed' into the harbor?" Astrid pulled herself onto Stormfly as she spoke.

Something in her tone told Eragon she had serious doubts in the aforementioned trio. "Is the ship intact?" He asked. "More importantly, is the cargo safe?"

"Well, they didn't sink it." Astrid admitted.

_Oh, that inspires confidence. _ Eragon remarked to Saphira. She said nothing.

"We'd better head back and sort this out." Hiccup sighed, then turned to Eragon. "You coming?"

Eragon hastily climbed onto Saphira's back and all three riders took off, soaring above the trees and heading for a small village less than a quarter mile from their location. By now, the sun had set, casting a warm, orange glow over the world. As they caught the light, Toothless' black scales glowed like fire coals. Stormfly flew alongside him, her scales a warm blue tinted with orange as they reflected the sun.

"Mate! What in Helheim is that supposed to mean?" Astrid demanded, then she twisted her saddle to shout at Saphira or Eragon; he wasn't sure which. "I'm not an animal!"

"Just let it go." Hiccup pleaded, then dropped his head with a groan, "Oh, man."

"What's wrong?" Eragon asked.

"Nothing, it just occurred to me what my dad's gonna have to say about this."

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_**Alagaësian Brightscales**_

Color: Various

Size: Never truly stops growing

Defenses: Breathes fire, talons

Egg Incubation: See below

Notable Qualities: Fiercely loyal to his or her Rider, exceptional air combatant, suited for war, enjoys flattery

Brightscales are true to their name and come in all colors and shades with hides that shine like gemstones. Originating from the distant land of Alagaësia, this species of dragon was almost hunted to extinction by the evil king Galbatorix. One unique factor about this species is it chooses when to hatch. If raised in the wild, it hatches when there is an abundance of food, but if it comes into contact with humans, it will hatch for one it chooses to be its rider.

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Author's Notes: Written for my sister, Scordatura, to celebrate her completion of sophomore year of high school. Way to go, kid! Two years left! Hope you like your special one-shot.

Also, this fic was written because I wanted to think about what would happen if these two got into a fight. I've never written for Eragon before, so this didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I think it's okay.

And for the rest of us, only seven days until How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes to theaters! Or, you know, the rest of it aside from the approximate 15.43 minutes that's already on the internet. No, seriously, I counted.

Review and favorite if you liked it!

Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon or the Inheritance Cycle.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the requested continuation of Bond. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited.

And to Guest to clear up some confusion: Eragon saw Toothless' memories is because Toothless wasn't intentionally blocking him at all. Hiccup and Toothless don't fight with their minds and therefore haven't trained to block Eragon's probing. Toothless' memories of Hiccup were apparent because that's what he was thinking of: protecting his rider and the reasons why. If Eragon had thought to probe Hiccup's mind, he probably would've found similar memories of Toothless.

The second complaint: This one kinda confused me. Could you be more specific?

As for the spell the dragon mothers placed on the eggs, I honestly completely forgot about that. It's been a long time since I read _Brisingr_ and _Inheritance _and I remember very little from either of them. So I apologize for any other confusing inaccuracies and blaring mistakes I may have and probably will continue to make.

Hope this helped. Thank you for your constructive criticism.

And special thanks to Tala White 12, RunWithScissors, TheSealer, dracologistmaster, dragonninja20, Z, Holy Nephilim, and my sister Scordatura for requesting a continuation and to historiafan8763 and the two Guests for simply reviewing. You all made this happen.

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Chapter 2

Hiccup felt a vein twitch in his forehead, heralding a minor but throbbing headache as he stood on the docks of his village, surveying the damage before him. Frankly speaking, he might've been more surprised if they _had_ successfully sailed the longboat safely into the harbor. "You know, Snotlout!" He called across the water. "You used to tease me mercilessly when we were kids because I was a horrible sailor."

"Be quiet!" His cousin shouted back, clinging to the mast and shaking an angry finger at Hiccup as though in accusation. "I wasn't speaking to you! Can't you two get this canoe _turned around_?"

"Hey, don't blame us!" Tuffnut retorted, caught between his sister and pile of crates that had toppled over in the presumed collision. "You're the one who steered us into the rocks!"

"Only because they didn't move out of my way!" Snotlout turned his nose in the air with an indignant huff, then began shouting orders for Hookfang to rescue him. As usual, the Monstrous Nightmare ignored him, sprawled out on the shore line and lazily dipping his tail in the water, pretending not to hear his rider. Likewise, Barf and Belch were contently munching their way through an unattended basket of fish.

"Oh, boy." In that moment, Hiccup couldn't decide which was more funny: the frantic efforts of Snotlout and the Twins, Eragon Shadeslayer's horrified face, or Stoick the Vast's dubious expression as he took in the sight. Beside him, Astrid hooked her arm around his and buried her face in his shoulder to hide her laughter while Toothless shared a similar reaction, albeit he was rolling around in hysterics on the quay.

During their return flight, Hiccup had rehearsed a myriad of explanations in his head, yet none of them seemed plausible enough to win his father's favor. Not that he really thought he had a chance of getting Stoick's attention in the first place. At the very least, Saphira would probably get impatient, roar, and demand silence in that fashion, which really wasn't the best method Hiccup could imagine. It was luck Berk's chieftain happened to be at the docks when they landed, already investigating the discord. Hiccup chewed his lower lip as his father surveyed the by now almost capsized ship before them, looked at Eragon, turned to him, focused back on the ship, then, without a word, walked away, shaking his head.

"Okay, I guess I'll handle this one." Hiccup called after him, slightly relieved but a little uneasy about the repercussions sure to come. "No problem! Don't worry, I am so … so …" He gave up and turned to Astrid. "We need to get those eggs out of the hold."

She cleared her throat, fighting a grin, "Right."

"No need." All three of them, and their respective dragons, spun around to find Fishlegs and Meatlug behind them, depositing one of the containers Hiccup had seen earlier into an orderly pile on the dock. "As soon as I saw they were going to hit the rocks, Meatlug and I ferried them out. They're all safe."

"All of them?" Eragon cried, taking in the sizable pile of cargo beside the pair. "Are you certain?

Fishlegs nodded and pounded a fist against the crate he'd just dropped off. "This was the last one."

"Thanks, Fishlegs." Hiccup nodded appreciatively, glad at least some of his headache had abated. Turning back to the ship, he asked aloud, "Now … how do we deal with this?"

"Don't know, but I gotta admit," Astrid let her grin return to her face and leaned against his shoulder. "Seeing Snotlout going down with his ship is striking a chord."

Hiccup turned to see if Eragon had any suggestions, only to find him looking over the rescued eggs, placing his hand over each and everyone of them, like a worried father calming his children. He lingered over the golden spheres the longest, though whatever those were, Hiccup could not say. Perhaps another kind of dragon egg? Behind the foreign rider, however, Fishlegs was already making friends with Saphira, the palm of his hand on her snout as he'd done earlier.

She was, by far, the most beautiful dragon Hiccup had ever come across. Granted, Berk had its fair share of attractive species, but all of them lacked the grace and nobility Saphira seemed to emanate. He knew he wasn't the only one to think so either, for a line of his clansmen had gathered on the wooden scaffolds leading up the cliffside and into the village.

That or they'd come to gawk at the disaster the Twins and Snotlout had made of Eragon's ship. It was completely capsized now, and the three were now sitting atop it, despondently holding their knees and staring at the water like a trio of marooned sailors. Then Snotlout let out a sudden shout of rage and frustration and shoved Tuffnut into the water.

"Well, this is a fine mess if I ever saw it."

"Hey, Gobber." Hiccup waved as the smith made his way toward them, skirting a Terror sunning herself on the quay, then again made the official introductions to everyone present. "Everyone, this is Eragon Shadeslayer and his dragon Saphira Bjartskular. Eragon, my old mentor Gobber, that's Fishlegs Ingerman, and the Gronckle is Meatlug. And those three out there...somewhere," He continued, waving a hand in the direction of the ship, just about submerged now. "Are Snotlout Jorgenson and the Thorston twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And their dragons Hookfang, Barf, and Belch."

Eragon nodded, probably at a loss for words.

"Hey!" Snotlout called across the water. "When you're done standing around, can you get us out of here!"

"What do you think?" Hiccup asked everyone else.

"Can they swim?" Astrid replied with a smug smile.

"Taught them myself." Gobber nodded, as Tuffnut suddenly resurfaced. "By threatening to kill them no less. Works every time."

Hiccup frowned, just then noticing how long the male twin had been underwater. Tuffnut raised a fist in triumph, clutching what appeared to be a small horse carved out of wood with wheels in the hooves. "I found it!"

"Hey, cool!" His sister cried, leaning forward. "We haven't seen that in years! Give it here!"

"Come get it!"

"I will!" Ruff retorted, rising to her feet and diving into the water after her brother where the pair proceeded to...actually, Hiccup wasn't entirely sure what they were trying to do this time. Drown each other, maybe? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. Having no interest in witnessing a homicide, he spun around to face the others on the dock. "All right, uh, Astrid, you deal with this and I'll—"

"Now you're passing the problem on to _me_?"

Hiccup shook his head, holding his hands up to gesture, "No, I am splitting the problem into three groups. You're in charge of the ship and I'll figure out what to do with Saphira and her rider."

"What's the third part?" Astrid demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"It was getting the eggs out of the hold and finding a place where they won't be damaged." Hiccup explained calmly. Toothless nudged him to the side, playfully nipping at his sleeve. "And I'm giving that job to Fishlegs."

"So I get the sharp end of the sword why?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted to discuss the Alagaësian's fate with my bull-headed father."

Astrid promptly whirled around, shouting up at their clansmen lined on the scaffold. "I need half a dozen men down here to assemble a pulley! Don't keep me waiting!"

"That's my girl." Hiccup grinned and turned to Eragon. The younger man was still hovering over the eggs and spheres, his lips moving soundlessly as he worked. Every so often he would turn to Saphira and the two of them would discuss something he would not hear even if he'd been right beside them. Hiccup tilted his head to the side and frowned. Like his dragon, Eragon himself was interesting. Estimating him to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, Hiccup observed he moved with a certain grace no one on Berk came close to possessing. Almost inhuman really. And his eyes matched those of his father's and the other elders of Berk as well as their more wizened enemies. The eyes of men who'd seen war and who had beyond question participated in it.

Whoever Eragon was, the road from which he'd come had not been a smooth one.

It was certainly evident in his skill with a blade. Gripping his left shoulder, he thought back to the previous events. His sword arm ached from the end of his wrist to where his arm met his shoulder, and even into his torso if he moved it wrong. That first time Eragon struck him and Hiccup block, he thought he was going to dislocate his arm. The sheer strength of the man dismayed him. Eragon was roughly a couple finger lengths shorter than he was and shared a similar, lean build, yet fighting him was like sparring with Gobber or his father, except four times as bad!

Narrowing his dark green eyes, Hiccup watched as Eragon knelt over the last crate Fishlegs had set on the dock. His ears were pointed, like an _álfr_, but that was impossible. Elves, dwarves, and giants were all just a story for children. They didn't actually exist. _But Eragon claims they do_. Hiccup thought, feeling uneasy._ And he looks like one from the old stories himself. Is it possible—_

"Hiccup?" He jumped and whirled around as Astrid gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hiccup nodded, turning to face her. "Think you can get the ship out of the water?"

"Gobber says not tonight, but if we hurry, we can get the pulley set up before it gets too dark."

Hiccup nodded again, surveyed the docks again, then swung himself onto his dragon's back. "Shadeslayer." The man turned. "You'll stay here with Fishlegs. He'll find a safe place to store the eggs and get you and Saphira settled in our stables."

At that, Saphira swung her great head around and fixed him with an intense sapphire blue eye. _A dragon does not sleep in a mere horse's stable._ She snarled.

"The term sounds worse than it is, Saphira." He reassured her, patting her nose. "We have no horses on Berk, and the stables are custom made for dragons. You'll be very comfortable there."

She snorted, but no more words came and she turned back to Eragon, who nodded thankfully. "You have my utmost gratitude."

_He's polite as a woman._ Hiccup speculated, raising an eyebrow, then turned to overlook the quay again. Half the Jorgensons had arrived, along with Bucket and Mulch, bringing with them their tools and a pair of sturgeons, which he hoped they intended for supper and not building the pulley. Snotlout was knee deep in water before he finally took a deep breath and swam to shore, where his father yanked him out and began furiously reprimanding him for crashing a ship. Hiccup winced, hoping Spitelout wouldn't be too hard on him. After all, it was probably fifty percent the Twins fault, too. Speaking of, neither of them were in the water anymore, but after briefly scanning the area, he found them on the dock, playing with their long-lost toy like children half their age.

Toothless rumbled low in his throat, looking back at him in question. "Yeah, let's go." The black dragon snorted in agreement, bunching his sturdy legs beneath him before launching himself skyward. A cold breath of air blasted Hiccup in the face and he reached up to pull down the visor of his helmet, only to remember he'd lost it when he'd crashed earlier. _I'll have to go back and look for it when I have the chance._

The sun had set over the Sinister Sea's horizon by now, and the sky had blackened to a deep amber. Only a few of his clansmen were still in the village as almost everyone had gone down to the docks to view the events there or otherwise returning from the fields. Given any other day, Hiccup could see them in the distance, but right now, he chose to keep his head down and concentrate on ignoring the cold and maneuvering his friend's artificial tail.

He still had no idea how it had just shattered like that. As a rule, he checked the tail for damage every morning after breakfast: kinks in the connecting rod, fraying cables, tears in the tail itself, and so on. But this morning, he'd found nothing short of a perfectly working tail, and yet it had torn apart like a fish in a dragon's mouth. _I supposed it could have happened in the fight easily enough, but wouldn't I remember something like that?_ As it was rather crucial to their survival in aerial combat, Hiccup preferred to keep a close eye on the tail in case of accidents like that.

Maybe he would search for the broken parts when he went back for the helmet, he thought as Toothless dropped onto the hardened earth outside their house.

Skullcrusher was contentedly napping by the door when they landed, though he temporarily opened one bright eye when Hiccup dismounted. "Evening." He greeted. The dragon snorted and turned his head away. Toothless growled at that, but he decided not to make an issue and bounded through the open doorway. A series of crashing and thudding could be heard, followed by a familiar yell of surprise.

Hiccup grinned and crossed over the threshold himself. "Everything all right, Dad?" It was Toothless who answered, bounding happily over the floorboards with a roasted fish dangling from his jaws.

Behind him at the table, Stoick the Vast was less amused by the black dragon's behavior, especially not after Toothless swallowed the fish in two gulps and made his uncanny imitation of human laughter. He sighed and pushed his empty plate away, resigning himself to a bowl of stew, "You owe me a fish, dragon. Hiccup, take a seat. And shut the door before that Terror gets in here. I don't like the way he's looking at my dinner either."

Hiccup turned to frown at the little, sky blue Terror that had snuck up behind his heels, gurgling plaintively at him. "Go find Gothi. She'll give you something to eat." The dragon cocked his head to the side for an instant, then scampered away in search of the wise woman. Shaking his head, Hiccup shut the door and resigned himself to the gloom of the house. "So..."

"I see you've made a new friend."

Right to the point then. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup took a seat at the table and snatched up one of the crab cakes Mrs. Ingerman had brought over that morning, broke it in two, and took a bite from the smaller half. It was cold, he determined distractedly, but it was still tasty.

"Tell me what happened." Stoick said dryly.

It took almost a quarter hour to explain the occurrences of that morning, starting with when he'd set out looking for the ship and how he'd found it packed with dragon eggs from a species he didn't recognize. Admitting to taking one of the eggs was difficult as the idea was ridiculous in retrospect and, try as he might, he had no idea what was going through his head at the time. It wasn't like him to just act without thinking like that.

Stoick listened without a word, yet as Hiccup described the scuffle between him and Eragon, he noticed a slight narrowing in the man's eyes. He continued on, describing how the two of them had managed to reach an understanding and ceased fighting. "And then Astrid showed up, I came back here, and you know the rest."

"Were you hurt?" Stoick asked once he'd completed his narration.

"Not badly." Hiccup lied. Now that all the excitement had died down and he'd had a chance to catch his breath, he found that, in addition to his sore arm, the space between his shoulders was killing him and now there was an insistent throbbing in the arm Eragon had twisted behind his back. Frowning a little, he rolled his shoulder experimentally, then clenched his jaw as a wave of pain spread from the base of his neck to just below his right shoulder blade.

He could tell from his father's face he was fooling no one, but Stoick made no comment and asked, "Well, now that you've brought the rider here, what do you intend to do with him?"

"Well...uh, I had thought to help repair the ship—"

"And why, Hiccup, should the people of Berk concern themselves with the troubles of a foreigner?" The chieftain asked, fixing him with a grave stare and pointing at him with the wooden spoon he'd been using.

Hiccup froze. Was there something wrong with helping Eragon? He didn't see why not. His father was never against lending a helping hand to those who needed it, like Heather and Thornado's wounded friend. His people weren't particularly hostile to strangers in the first place, or at least didn't start conflicts. Seriously, looking back on his childhood, Berk was rarely the aggressor in any altercations that occurred between the tribes in the Archipelago.

_So why...?_ _He's testing me!_ He realized with a start. _This is a decision I will have to make some day and he's trying to prepare me for it._ Swallowing his unease, he began haltingly. "Because...Eragon hasn't given us, the people of Berk, a reason to deny him our help. However, he has an entire ship filled with dragon eggs, which could be a potential threat. We could confiscate the eggs, of course, but we run the risk alienating him even further, since he reacted quite violently when I stole one egg earlier. Not that one man could take on an entire village by himself, even with a dragon, but it isn't worth the risk given what we know. So by doing this favor, we'd be extending a hand of friendship and forming a possible alliance in the future."

"Very good, son."

Laughed nervously in spite of himself, Hiccup answered. "That and it _is_ sorta the Twins and Snotlout's fault the ship's a wreck in the first place, so not repairing it would be rude."

"Hm, true enough." Stoick nodded in agreement, then stated abruptly. "However, since this was your call, I'm leaving them in your hands."

Hiccup felt a chunk of crab cake get stuck in his throat and he coughed, "What?"

"It's only natural you personally deal with the mess you made." Setting the spoon aside, the man rose from the table. "Go pay Gothi a visit so she can take care of your shoulder. As for me, I'm heading down to the docks to meet this Eragon Shadeslayer myself."

Hiccup sighed. "Sure thing, Dad."

-0-0-0-

**Important Announcement!** Since this was originally just supposed to be a one-shot, I never really gave much thought to developing an actual story, so as of right now there is no conflict or antagonist. Who would _you_ like to make an appearance in Bond? Alvin? Dagur? Daenerys Stormborn? No, just kidding! One crossover at a time!

Let me know what you think.

I don't own How to Train Your Dragon, the Inheritance Cycle, or Game of Thrones.


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